From the Construct Ireland archives

John Hearne spoke to a number of independent energy experts to develop an impartial view of the main sustainable heating options.

After a long struggle to build their home, Karen and Steve Ward finally got their wish — an energy efficient, timber frame house that boasts a palette of healthy and ecological materials and a fully renewable heating system.

With oil prices nearing record highs, forward thinking developers who’ve taken the initiative to incorporate green aspects into their projects are showing a buoyancy that starkly contradicts the downturn, as John Hearne reveals.

Hugh Dorrian, member of the Main Committee of the recently launched Building Limes Forum Ireland reveals lime is regaining ground as a key material not only in conservation projects, but in new build.

Recent allegations that a single leaf timber frame development in Leitrim was forced to incorporate an outer layer of blockwork in spite of no such requirement in the Building Regulations or by the local authority in question suggests that something is seriously amiss, as Frank Coles explains.

It is not alone as an artist and historical author of distinction that Peter Pearson is noted.  His role as a conservationist in the last three decades has had a tangible effect in protecting Ireland’s built heritage, and raising consciousness of the value and importance of conservation work

Woodspec -First Timber Specifiers Guide Produced in Ireland

Developers across Ireland are beginning to see the sense in shifting from individual heating systems to centralised energy production feeding into district heating networks. John Hearne visited a mixed-use scheme in Ballisodare, County Sligo, where a cutting edge biomass energy centre is providing a multitude of different buildings with energy from a green, secure source.

The Orchard, a new building on the campus of Stranmillis College, a teacher training college in Belfast, has become the first winner of a sustainable planning award organised by the Royal Town Planning Institute alongside a host of other awards. Jason Walsh visited the new building to find out about its green credentials.

Heat recovery ventilation, a technology that has become a standard building application in Scandinavian countries, is rapidly gaining recognition in Ireland as a solution to both problems.